Wood Pallet Coffee Table

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This table is a very cheap build and is extremely heavy duty. Personally I think it looks great and the diamond plate, even though it's not a flat surface, keeps your drinks upright so that there is no spillage.

Materials/tools used in this project were:

Pallets
Stainless Steel Diamond Plate (1/4")
Wood Screws
Stainless Steel Screws
Stain/Poly
Blow Torch
Orbital Sander
Table Saw
Miter Saw
Stain Brush
Poly Brush
Tape Measure
Pencil
Square

Step 1: Disassemble Pallet

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I picked up the stainless diamond plate from work. It wasn't being used and it was already cut exactly to 2x4 feet. This particular piece is 1/4 inch thick, which is way overkill, but it was free. There are a lot of fab shops like the one I work in that have "drops" that they would be willing to sell to people. This piece would probably cost a person 50 bucks.

I also grabbed a couple pallets from work which they were getting rid of. If you search around your area, there are places that have an overwhelming stock of pallets in which they will gladly give to someone for free.

I brought everything home and started working. These pallets were a bear to take apart. I did the best I could to separate the wood but in the end there were nails left into the pieces I was after so I tried to remove them but some would not pop out so I used a Sawzall to remove the nail.

Step 2: Make the Frame

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My frame ended up being 3 1/4" x 1 3/8" wide. and I dadoed out the thickness of the diamond plate by 1/4" wide. Then I clamped the pieces to the diamond plate to see how they fit.

Step 3: Stain

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After all four sides fit nicely, I sanded the sides with my orbital sander. I didn't get too carried away, just got rid of some of the rough spots. Then I decided that the boards looked a little plain so I used a blowtorch to darken some spots of the wood. I took some Minwax Red Mahogany to the boards and finished with a coat of poly.

Step 4: Sand the Stainless Top

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Because I live in a climate where there is a ton of expansion and contraction, I knew that the frame would thin out during the winter so I took a "flapper disk" to the edges of the stainless and gave it a very small SMOOTH bevel.

Step 5: Make Legs

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I made the legs 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and cut them so that the table equaled a height of 18"...Subtracting the 1/4" top the legs were 17 3/4" tall. I didn't sand the legs but I did take the blowtorch to all four sides of all four legs and when I was done I applied polyurethane to them.

Step 6: Fasten the Top

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I only used a total of 4 stainless screws to hold the top to the frame. With the weight of the frame and it being dadoed into it I thought that any other screws I would have used was overkill. I came in 7 inches on each side of the 48" side and drilled a pilot hole. Then I drilled the holes out to 1/4" and then used a counter sink to flush the screws to the top.

Drill slow and push hard and use some sort of lubricant if possible. Also do not use cheap bits because they will not hold up to stainless...especially 1/4".

Step 7: Screw Sides and Legs

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I ended up using regular construction screws to screw the sides of the frames together, then with the legs, I squared and leveled them up also. The screws were a gold color so I used a Sharpie marker to color them in. I didn't want to hide the fasteners because I was going for the rustic/modern look that our house has.

Step 8: All Done

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After I was done I flipped the table off the saw horses and it was probably the sturdiest table I've seen. I love it and it basically cost me nothing. I hope this instructable gives some of you the courage and motivation to build something like this! Thanks for looking!

I have a more detailed video of this table on my YouTube channel along with other DIY's at www.youtube.com/c/adamfleisch